The competitive nature of plasticity affects us all. There is an endless war of nerves going
on inside each of our brains. If we stop exercising our mental skills, we do not just forget
them: the brain map space for those skills is turned over to the skills we practice instead.
If you ever ask yourself, "How often must I practice French, or guitar, or math to keep on
top of it?" you are asking a question about competitive plasticity. You are asking how
frequently you must practice one activity to make sure its brain map space is not lost to another.